16 June 2004

Left. Sunrise over lava deltas.
Nearest glow comes from lava entering water at southwest end of
western delta. In background are entries off eastern lava delta.
0511. Right. Tighter view of eastern image. Glow comes from
southwestern end of western lava delta. 0519.

Left. Acidic steam rising from
entries in upper left image mostly obscures glow, but large image
shows small lava falls off eastern delta. Note two photographers
standing on top of old sea cliff at left edge of image (visible in
large image only). 0527. Right. Looking southwest as lava
battling surf at southwest end of western lava delta. Widest lava
stream is about 2 m across. 0549.

Left. Lone boatsman videoing
lava entry at end of western lava delta. This boat, with or without
passengers, is a frequent observer of the entries. 0552. Right.
Similar to right image above, as wave curls toward point. 0601.

17 June 2004

Left. Southwest end of west lava
delta before its partial collapse. Boat in background is same one
seen later this morning. 0524. Right. About 30 seconds after
collapse of front of delta. Image taken from within 1 m of site of
left image but at different magnification. Note overhanging part of
front, which itself collapsed a few seconds later. Lava has not yet
started pouring out of the collapse scar. 0527:32.

Left. Fifty-one seconds later,
lava is gushing from collapse scar. Gushing began after overhanging
part of front tipped and fell into the sea. 0528:23. Right.
Lava gushing continues 25 seconds later in this tighter view.
0528:48.

Left. Looking southwest along
front of east lava delta. Big bay developed by multiple collapses
yesterday evening. Compare with image taken at 0633 June 13. Thick steam plume rises from shoreline of this
bay, where hot interior of delta is now exposed to surf. Fishing
boat gives scale. 0617. Right. Lava entering water at point
on east delta. 0619.

18 June 2004

Left. Two cascades of lava drop
into swash zone at southwest end of western lava delta. Height of
cascades in image, 1.5 m. 0532. Right. Wider view of
cascades, when water is inundating their base and reflecting glow.
0533.

Left. Several other breakouts
have joined the two in upper images, as entry is everchanging.
Maximum relief shown in image, 8 m. 0547. Right. The entry
has tamed a bit, as sunrise colors the sky. 0553.

Left. Looking southwest at new
point on west lava delta. Nearly vertical rock estimated to be 4-5 m
tall looms over point. In distance is southwest end of delta, show
in upper four images. 0551. Right. Closer view of point and
rock slab. Don't bet on this pillar surviving for long. 0555.

21 June 2004

Left. Breakouts on surface of
eastern lava delta, with glow reflected by laze plume from multiple
entries. Width of view, 200-250 m at edge of delta. 0513. Right.
Closer view of same scene. Note open channeled breakout, which is
pouring directly into the water behind low rise. 0519.

Left. Closer view of lava falls
in right image above. Lava temporarily piles up on beach but is
washed aside by each wave. Elephant trunk records position of former
falls; water quenched lava in falls, creating hollow casing. These
features are seldom preserved more than a few minutes. Right image
above shows small drip of lava emerging from the trunk (visible in
large image). Height of
active falls, 3 m. 0544. Right.
Looking east through heavy steam at small lava drizzle off southwest
end of west delta. Height of falls, about 2 m. 0603.

22 June 2004

Left. Glow at seaward edge of
eastern Banana delta, looking east into gradually lightening sky. In
large view, Venus is visible in upper right; see it? Several entries
contribute to the glow, which is reflected by plumes of laze (lava
haze) that rise from contact of lava with water. 0508. Right.
Closer view of right end of delta in left view. 0509.

Left. Long-lens view of entry
area in above right, showing multiple entries off delta. Bluff to
left is same as that hown in lower central part of right image; it
is on inactive front of eastern delta. 0515. Right.
Perspective of southwestern part of eastern delta, inactive surface
of which forms foreground. Much later than this, dawn becomes too
bright for glow to be seen. 0525.

Left. But, "There's beauty in
the sunrise in the sky" (Bob Dylan, from Tomorrow is a Long
Time). View from same location as all images above. 0530. Right.
Dawn's early color goes quickly, already fading in this scene 2
minutes after left image. 0532.

Left. Rocks projecting above
water are all that remain of collapsed point on western lava delta.
New point is under construction, but lava flux is low and point may
be stillborn. 0545. Right. Blue fume rises from Banana tube
on coastal flat just back from old sea cliff bounding Wilipe`a lava
delta. The tube supplies lava to the active eastern Banana delta.
The fume rises from a linear zone about 90 m long; several cracks in
the zone are incandescent at a depth of 30 cm, heated by flowing
lava below. 0602.

Map of flows from Pu`u `O`o: 21 May 2004

Shades of red denote Mother's Day flow, which began erupting on
May 12, 2002 and continues to the present. Darkest shade indicates lava
flows erupted in November 2003-21 May 2004, including the labeled Banana
flow, which developed gradually starting in the middle of April. Yellow stars indicate
centers of formerly active, but now dead, rootless shields built along lava tube in
Mother's Day flow. Yellow shade indicates Kuhio (Prince Kuhio
Kalaniana`ole) flow, active most of the time from March 20 to May 21. As of
May 21,
most activity was located south of the rootless shield complex in the
Banana flow,
fed by the Banana branch of the Mother's Day tube. The Kuhio flow
remains active, too.

Through September and into early October 2003, lava was moving along
the east and west sides of the Mother's Day flow. The east-side lava
(known as the August 9 breakout) came from the August 9 rootless shield,
itself fed by the main Mother's Day tube from Pu`u `O`o. The west side
lava, known as the Kohola arm of the Mother's Day flow, branched off the
tube system below the rootless shield.

In early October 2003, the August 9 breakout stopped moving, the Kohola
died back to a trickle, and the one labeled rootless shield gained
prominence. By October 16, however, the shield had partly collapsed,
leaving several drained perched ponds behind. Upstream from the shield,
many hornitos and small flows formed over the Mother's Day tube. Soon
thereafter, other rootless shields began to form over the Mother's Day,
August 9, and Kohola tubes.

New vents opened at the southern base of Pu`u `O`o on January 19 and
fed Martin Luther King (MLK) flows, which remained active until March 5.
Several small vents formed during this time. On March 20, Prince Kuhio
Kalaniana`ole (PKK) flow originated from two vents, main one about 250 m
south of base of Pu`u `O`o. This flow has remained active most of the
time to the May 21 date of this map.

The Banana flow developed from breakouts from the Mother's Day lava
tube, centered near the former Banana Tree kipuka. The breakouts become
prominent in the middle of April, and lava started down Pulama pali
shortly thereafter. This is the time that we assigned the name Banana to
the flow.

Vents in West Gap Pit became active in early October, were quiet for
3 weeks, and then resumed intermittent activity that continued well into
December. Other vents were also sporadically active in Puka Nui (near West Gap Pit)
and in the crater of Pu`u `O`o.

Map of Pu`u `O`o and vicinity: 9 April 2004

Map shows vents, lava flows, and other features near Pu`u `O`o frequently referred to in updates (see
large map). These features change often, but this map should help
those viewers lost in the terminology. The cones in West Gap are just
outside the boundary of the crater--the oval shaped depression
containing the seven numbered vents (now down to 6, as Humble Vent has
been buried by a mound of lava flows erupted from Dave's Pit/Vent in
March. Red color denotes flows--the
Mother's Day flows--erupted since May 12, 2002. Light orange color indicates
episode-55 flows erupted between March 1997 and August 2002 (exclusive
of Mother's Day flows). Darker orange represents MLK flows, and yellow,
PKK flow. Vents for these two sets of flows shown by indicated symbols. Gray shows flows of earlier episodes.

The URL of this page is
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/multimedia/archive/2000/Aug/
Contact:
hvowebmaster@usgs.govUpdated: 28 June 2004 (DAS)